Future Potential

Pushing the tavern door, open Logan stretched himself while letting the sunshine fall on his face.

After his little exercise, he took in a deep breath of air. He immediately notices a vulgar smell drifting into his nose.

He looked around and saw some people throwing out the content of what seemed to be buckets full of excrements into what looked like a pit full of shit and water mixed in with dirt.

A deep frown surfaced on his face. ´Disgusting. Damn this smell. It wasn't here yesterday. But at least they know how to dispose of it. Hopefully, they bury that. I already wondered if I would see people throwing shit out of windows.´

Logan tried to ignore anything related to the smell and walked further away from the tavern in the direction of his army that was now waiting a little bit outside the village along the forest area. Walking with him at his side was now Vi that had become his Squire after the tavern owner finally accepted her leave.

The tavern owner did so with concern, but in the end, he also knew it was better for her to leave and do what she liked.

Moving forward for a while they finally came to a place where a few soldiers were resting. It looked like his summoned soldiers still behaved somewhat like ordinary people to camouflage their true identity of simple pawns. Or were they? They even seemed to have conversations. Almost even fooling himself with the charade if he didn't know any better.

Not only that but they also set up a little camp around a campfire and were doing various works like maintaining their blades or feeding the horses. Yes, there were horses.

What surprised Logan most was that there were six transportation carts with two horses each and another two horses that had saddles on them.

Logan looked at them a little bit longer and inspected them further. Five of the carts were pretty simple and had only some shields and other weapons on them whereas the last carriage had a lot more on it.

From his guess, the items looked like tents and other stuff that was needed for basic survival needs. Things like rations and water as he could also see a soldier taking some water into his field bottle after draining a barrel a little bit.

´System, what is that?´

[That is your army.]

´Not that. I mean the stuff around my army. Are you summoning extra stuff with my people?´ Logan asked again after being somewhat annoyed of the system only giving him the most necessary answer.

[Host forgets that his soldiers also had armor and weapons when they charged into the tavern...Sure, they are a little under-equipped with low-quality items but better than nothing. I had guessed that Host was already aware of that? Well, to answer your question, the system is summoning transportation means and equipment and other things like ammunition for the army. There are five carts for the troops and one cart for provisions and equipment. The two saddled horses are Host´s and William´s steeds for personal use. Vi will only get one for herself after she becomes a full-fledged Knight retinue of Host.]

´Wow, that is handy. Also, I noticed how you deviate from Host to you. You can address me personally.

[Confirmed. I will address you as such. To be truthful, I was getting annoyed, and it became a pain in the arse to stay formal.]

Logan smiled at those words and Vi noticed it. Little did she know that he was reacting to his system. "Your lordship, is this your escort? You got so many men with you." Was what she asked after looking to the people camping now. She took his smile as a signal that those people were his. And luckily for him, they were precisely that.

"Stop using that title...Just call me Logan. Right, I haven't told you my name yet. I am Logan Meliar.", he answered back and glanced at her.

She looked back at him and thought a little. "Ser Logan it is then."

Logan only sighed at her answer. "Fine, suit yourself."

Just when he said that another man in full armor approached them. He glanced shortly at Vi and bowed slightly when he came to a halt right in front of him. "My lord."

Logan inspected the man that stood in front of them. He noticed the little grey patches of hair at the sides of his ears in the otherwise black hair. His looks were somewhat middle-aged and from that Logan could judge him to be somewhat experienced. And by that, he could reasonably say that this was very likely his Grand Knight William.

"Uncle, don't be so formal. It is alright. This here is Vylaya Kentla. I call her Vi. I accepted her as my future Knight. I think she has potential. So I hope you can teach her well.", Said Logan with a smile and slight grin. Then he looked back to Vylaya. "Vi, this is my uncle, William Meliar. He is my right hand and therefore your superior. He is also the Knight that you will learn under."

William had a little goatee which he was caressing right now while inspecting this woman called Vi.

Vi, on the other hand, got somewhat nervous after seeing this tall, muscular Knight stand in front of her and stare holes into her. Logan was also a little bit intrigued as well while looking at William his armor.

´This armor...system, are you still hiding something from me?´

[What do you mean, Logan?]

´The armor William is wearing is the Ursine(Bear) armor from the Witcher series. It is even the master crafted version.´

[That is correct. Why would you be surprised? This world has magic in it, and monsters are living here as well. Just because they are not shown does not mean they don't exist. Such an armor suits a Grand Knight...]

´So you are telling me that my Grand Knight is a Witcher?´

[No, he is not a Witcher. If you want to get one you would need to buy a Witcher-Voucher in the shop.]

Logan got a little bit euphoric, and his heart skipped a little beat. He is accelerating by a bit. Just the thought about it made his little nerd heart happy. Yes, he loved that franchise and getting that answer made him also wonder what else he could get from that shop.

While he thought that he also saw William poke Vi at various places on her body to test her muscles, that nearly brought him to laughter, so he tried to suppress a chuckle.

William even touched her breasts. What did this guy do that for? To see if they would become a burden? That somewhat calmed him down, and he only shook his head lightly.

After he got a clear head again, he needed to get out some more information while he was at it.

´So why then exactly this armor?´

[Our god is the father of all gods. The Slavic people mostly worshiped him. Does that answer your question?]

´So you mean to say that because he is a Slavic god it also explains why he would give me powers to summon Slavic legends? Alright...I guess it is like that. After all, he also already chose my sigil.´

´Anyway, are Witcher strong here? I presume such a Voucher is probably very expensive if they are.´

[Yes for strong. Expensive? That is always debatable. Witchers are master level warriors with overall skill level ranging from advanced to master ranks. Geralt of Rivia at his last breath of life would be considered a Grandmaster. And I am not talking about the one that died by a pitchfork...]

´...I see...Wait! If there are monsters here then shouldn't there be an organization already existing that takes care of them?´ Logan was curious about that little fact he nearly ignored. ´Would Ghuls and the like not become major pests and problems if there are no professional monster hunters? And why don't I ever remember seeing them in the show?´

[think about the magical creatures existing here like Wyvern and even the White Walkers. There are even Dire Wolves and Dark Specters. Or even the children of the forest. Many monsters are living in this world. Just because they were not all shown does not mean they don't exist. Nobles were mostly not the ones that had to dirty their hands with it. That is why they started to ignore it and downplay the threats they were.]

[To come back to your first question. People take care of it themselves. You don't need specialized people for every problem. Take the ballistae into consideration that were later created to counter Daenerys her Wyvern pets. There are enough ways to combat monsters. Witchers are just one of them.]

[Anyway, you still could introduce that craft and build a school for Witchers. With that, you would more effectively fight monster problems. The common folk would love the extra care. It will also become a source of income if other countries take their services. But do note that you need a Master Witcher that can lead that school.]

´Why...?´ Just before he could end his thought. "Very well, you seem to be a fine girl. Alright, I will try my best. But don't expect too much, Logan." It came from William and Logan put his attention back to them completely stopping his next question to the system.

Vi smiled from one ear to another. "Thank you, my lord. I will do my best." She said to Logan once more. "Ser William, I will not let you down. I promise", stated Vi with determination to William as well.

Wiliam smiled at her softly after seeing her determined attitude and hearing her words. "Ser, huh. That sure brings back memories. I haven't heard that in ages now." His gaze was a little bit defocused as if he was reminiscent of something.

Logan wondered about what exactly the system gave William as a background. And himself to that point as well. All he could guess is that he once was a noble of some sorts as well.

It is all good and well, but as soon as one of those Maesters looks into some books they will know that he deceived people. There is, after all, no noble house with the name of Meliar.

"So, where is our next destination going to be? The last bandits we followed were stupid enough to show themselves right at the village we made our stop.", added William now and looked at Logan.

"We are free folk, uncle. We go wherever we please. By some lucky encounter, I found out that there is going to be a bigger tourney in Harrenhal. We should mix ourselves in and grab that prize money. It would stock up our funds quite well, don't you agree? We could probably gain a few hundred gold coins." Logan looked at Vi while mentioning the encounter and explained his reasoning to William. "And I also think it is a good opportunity to let Vi see what a tourney is all about."

"That sounds like an excellent idea.", nodded William in agreement.

"Free folk?", asked Vi now with a slightly frowned face.

Logan and William both looked at her and saw her facial expression. "Are you perhaps thinking about wildlings right now? Alright, first lesson. Widen your horizon. Start thinking on your own and don't take every word said by others for a golden coin until you see it for yourself. We are free folk — men and women without a banner and no land of their own. Kings and lords call us many names. Sellswords and Mercenaries if we have not committed any crimes or Outlaws and Bandits if we do live a criminal lifestyle. Well, there is also a name I would say fits us best. That is if I had to choose one. A brotherhood without banners." Logan smiled a little "But it is all the same in the end."

While he explained that to her he also had his thoughts on that subject. ´Widen your horizon, huh. Wyvern...I guess it is true since they have their wings around their forelegs and not like real Dragons as an extra pair of limbs. I should start to see things differently as well.´

Vylaya still looked somewhat concerned and looked at William and the soldiers. Logan saw that and smiled once again. He put a hand on her shoulder. "It was your own decision. I told you, didn't I? I am no such thing as a lord."

After saying those words, he started to walk to his men.

"But..." Vi tried to say something but was interrupted by William.

"Enough, you will soon see what Logan meant by his words. Just know that we are not like Bandits that terrorize the downtrodden. Now, let's get you some fitting clothes first. With that get up you can't train well.", said William and pushed her to the cart with all the wares.

While both of them did their thing, Logan inspected his soldiers now a little bit closer.

Sitting down at the campfire he received some salutes and nods from them. Logan could see that a few of the swordsmen were female. The same applied to his archers. There were about two women among them.

´System, what is the ratio to male and female in my army?´

[About 8:2 in favor of men. Should I change the ratio to make them all male or female?]

´No, that ratio is good enough. I expected the army to consist of only male people. I would have changed that.´

"Your Highness. That woman you brought with you. Is she going to join us?", Asked a soldier now that was sitting across himself on the other side of the campfire. That somewhat surprised Logan at first, and he looked at the soldier. Inspecting him, he smiled and then changed his gaze towards William and Vi.

"Yes, she will join us. She is going to be trained into a Knight. So she is going to be your superior when her training is done.", He told him, and his reaction was a typical confirming nod. The others started whispering something.

Before he could try and ask what they were whispering about William and Vi came back and joined them.

Logan looked at Vylaya and saw her dressed in very tight fitting leather trousers matched with knee-high leather boots and a loose white shirt on her upper body that went down to about her waist. It was fastened with a belt around her waist and some leather armbands on her wrists so that it didn't fly in the wind and hinder her movements much.

The waist belt also had a function so that her sword could dangle with its scabbard right at that position. It reminded Logan a lot of Ciri´s outfit. Well, minus the high-heels at the boots and the too extravagant cleavage that is. But sure enough, Vi had a beautiful body as well. Her hazelnut brown hair tied together into a ponytail to the back had its charm.

She just stood there and rubbed the round pommel with her fingers while holding the handle of the sword. That indicated her excitement to have been given her outfit and own sword. Usually, Squires did not get their sword right at the start.

Logan smirked a little when he noticed her behavior. "Well look at who finally looks like a warrior now. A damn fine one to say the least."

Vi blushed a little after his remark. "Thank you...But these clothes are a little bit weird. I will need some time to get used to them."

"Are you talking about the undergarments or the slim fitted trousers?", Chuckled William a little from behind her. He was not the one that dressed her, but he knew what she probably meant.

Vi frowned at his words and looked at Logan if he heard that embarrassing thing. She was talking about the undergarments. It was a thing she never really was aware of.

At first, she even wondered if those things were clothes for nobility, but the swordswoman that helped her change her clothes told her that in their culture it was very typical to wear these under every clothes.

And they had their advantages. She felt so much more protected in some way, and the clothes didn't rub her anymore.

"Men, do treat our new sister well.", Said Logan while looking back to his soldiers and pretending not to have heard their little conversation. It let Vi breath out in relief somewhat.

"Of course, my lord. That little chick will be protected until it can raise its feeble wings on its own.", Answered a female soldier from the sides and snickered. It was the woman that helped her get dressed. The others also started to laugh lightly after hearing her words.

Vi, on the other hand, frowned and felt being treated wrongly "Chick? I am not that weak..."

"Haha, but it just suits you fine." Logan laughed lightly as well. "From now on you are our chicken knight."

"What!? Why?", asked Vi back and was despairing on the title she now got from him.

"Hmm, it just reminds me of the chicken from the tavern..." After his answer, he looked at her and saw how unhappy she was. He sighed and glanced at William. He received a nod from him in response.

"We may be bannerless, but we do have a sigil. Most would see it as a crimson eagle. But that is not entirely the truth. In legend, there exists a bird of holy flame. Its name is the immortal phoenix. You may already have heard its legend. It burns eternally until its life extinguishes. And from its ashes, a new life will rise once more. It is burning brightly as before. You are still young and therefore inexperienced. Show us that you deserve to be called a phoenix among eagles.", explained William with a friendly tone to her.

"And if you cannot become a phoenix then just become a cockatrice. A chick has many ways to improve...", added Logan with a grin.

And with that Vi somehow believed them and ended up with the title of chicken knight.